Mercury Content Levels in Hair of Rural Population of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District

Mercury is capable of atmospheric transfer by large distances, offers resistance to the environment, is able to bioaccumulation in ecosystems and leads to significant negative consequences for the public health. Aim: to study the mercury content in the hair of rural residents of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and assess the population health risks. Methods: A single-step epidemiological study was conducted with the formation of a representative selection of rural residents in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. The hair samples were taken from the occipital part of the head using a standard WHO technique. Chemicoanalytical study of samples wwas carried out in a licensed laboratory using mass-spectrographic method with inductively coupled argon plasma. The statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica v.8.0 program. Differences were assessed as statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results: Mercury concentration in the hair of the inhabitants living in the rural settlements varied from 0.204gg/g to 9.99 gg/g and those leading the traditional (nomadic) lifestyle varied from 0.303 gg/g to 5.21 gg/g. Increased risk to public health of Tazovsky settlement was detected in 48.8 % of cases, for residents who led the traditional way of life in Gydansky, Antipayutinskaya and Nakhodka tundra - 86.6 %, Harsaim settlement - 77.3 %. Absolute average values of mercury content in hair of the aboriginal population were 2.6 times higher than in the migrants. Conclusions: It is necessary to strengthen control over mercury content in natural environments and its accumulation in food chains and to carry out measures to reduce the population health risk

Bioaccumulation · Biology · Ecosystem · Environmental health · Geography · Population · Rural population · Socioeconomics · Tundra · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Human Health and Disease · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Medicine · Mercury impact and mitigation studies · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry · Toxicology